Merry Christmas!

We usually go to Guernsey just before Christmas every year to see our eldest son and his family and many of the pillar boxes, particularly in St Peter Port, have knitted toppers. This is one that I photographed near the Market Square in December 2022:

 

1900 Georges Richard Dogcart

This is a photograph I took at the Broad Street/Cross Lane roundabout in Salford of one of the cars that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1965.

It's the 1900 Georges Richard Dogcart of  Mr J. E. Crossman of Whiston, Lancs and the programme of the event had this to say about the car:

 

5.       Georges Richard Dogcart

           Found in a field in Shropshire about 17 years ago, has completed several R.A.C. Brighton Runs. There are only three Georges Richards, one about the same age in Belgium the other about 1903 in England. Twin cylinder, engine across the frame like the modern Mini Minor, belt drive to gear box and final drive by chains to rear wooden solid-tyred wheels. It has a varnished wooden body and has four forward and reverse gears.

1963 Aston Martin DP214

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield corner during the Coys of Kensington GT Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's Simon Draper's 1963 Aston Martin DP214 in which he shared the driving in the race with David Clark. This was one of two Project 214 cars built (the other being completely destroyed in an accident at the Nürburgring in 1964) and was based on DB4GT chassis 0194/R with the 3,670cc straight-6 engine bored out to 3,750cc.The car ran in the Le Mans 24 Hour race twice, retiring after 11 hours with a broken piston when in third place in 1963 driven by Bill Kimberley and Jo Schlesser, and in 1964 it was driven by Mike Salmon and Peter Sutcliffe but was disqualified after 18 hours for topping up with oil before the permitted time. It was in eleventh place at the time. Behind the Aston are the 1965 MGB of David Heynes/Mike Wilds and the 1960 Austin Healey 3000 of Ted and Mark Williams.

1935 Maserati 4CS

This car took part in a handicap race and a scratch race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in August 1992.

It's Adam Painter's 1935 Maserati 4CS, chassis #1126, originally with a supercharged 4-cylinder inline 1,088cc engine that was replaced with a 1,496cc engine in 1938. The car was originally owned by Ettore Bianco who finished in 7th, and then 6th in the 1935 and 1936 Mille Miglia races, winning his class on both occasions. It was involved in a fatal accident with the next owner, then acquired and rebuilt in 1937 by Luigi Villoresi and Count Giovanni Lurani's Scuderia Ambrosiana, and in 1939 found a new owner in Singapore. Adam Painter's father, Ken Painter, bought the car in 1969, and it's been with the family ever since.

1966 Cooper-Maserati

This is a photograph that I took at the Donington Park Museum in October 1989.

It's a 1966 Cooper-Maserati, and this is what the book 'Great Racing Cars of the Donington Collection' says about it:

The Cooper-Maserati

Cooper stage a comeback

 

Following their dismal lack of success in the last three seasons of 1½ litre racing, the Cooper Car Company became part of the Chipstead Motors Group and with added backing they found a new enthusiasm. For 3 litre racing in 1966 they adopted the massive, thirsty but powerful Maserati V12 engine, which was installed in their first monocoque chassis, a ‘bathtub’ type designed by Tony Robinson, a racing mechanic-cum-engineer of long-standing experience. These T81 Cooper-Maseratis were big, hefty cars, but they were ready early in the season and attracted such customers as Rob Walker, Jo Bonnier and the Frenchman, Guy Ligier. Jo Siffert raced Walker’s car, while Jochen Rindt, Richie Ginther and later John Surtees handled the works entries. Surtees joined the team after a mid-season break from Ferrari, and he developed the unwieldy but reliable cars into really competitive propositions late in the season. He won the Mexican Grand Prix – Cooper’s first major success since McLaren’s win at Monaco in 1962. This, in conjunction with his Belgian win for Ferrari and second and third places for Cooper, made him runner-up to Brabham in the World Championship. Pedro Rodriguez scored a lucky win for the T81s in the South African GP, opening the 1967 season, and later in the year the type was replaced in works hands by lighter and slimmer T81B derivatives. In 1968 the new BRM V12 engine was adopted in preference to the ageing Maserati unit, and this became Cooper’s final fling in Grand Prix racing. The Cooper Maserati was never a great racing car, but it gave this pioneering marque their last Formula 1 successes.

Pre 1952 Grand Prix Car Race

This is a photograph that I took during the HGPCA Pre '52 GP Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

Leading is Martin Stretton in Simon Bull's 1932 Maserati 4CM closely followed by Peter Hannen's 1937 Maserati 6CM with Ludovic Lindsay's 1936 ERA R5B bringing up the rear. The car in the background appears to be Tony Merrick's 1934 ERA R1B.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph at Old Hall Corner during the early morning practice for the Aston Martin GT Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2017.

It's the 2000 Ferrari 360 driven in the 50 minute race by Matthew Wilton and John Cowen. There were two versions of the Ferrari 360, the Modena and the Challenge, as well as a Spider version, each with a 3,586cc V8 engine. It doesn't say in the programme of the event which version this is, but presumably it's the Challenge.

1967 Lancia Kappa Estate

This is a car that I spotted on one of the side streets in Hyde in December 2018.

It’s a 1967 Lancia Kappa Estate which was produced from 1996 to 2000 with the option of several different engines.

As the DVLA now has no record of R340 MFM I don’t know which engine this car had.

Formula Ford Racing

 

This is a photograph that I took at the Knickerbrook chicane during the HSCC Historic Formula Ford race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1992.

Leading is Gary Pearson in his 1971 Merlyn Mk20 followed by the 1971 Crossle 20F of Mike Whatley and the 1969 Lotus 61 of Simon Hadfield.

1955 Maserati 300S

This is a photograph that I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

According to the programme of the event number 23 in the Classic Car Sports Car Race was supposed to be Thomas Bscher's Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage, but he  drove his 300S instead, and this is a 1955 car, chassis #3053.

1949 Leyland Octopus

This is a photograph that I took at the Greater Manchester Transport Society’s Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally I Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1988.

It’s a 1949 Leyland Octopus, and the programme of the event had this note about it:

 

KYF 317 LEYLAND OCTOPUS. 1949. Entered by R.Nield, Manchester. A dropside lorry, it spent its life working in London and Sheffield for British Road Services before passing to a showman and ultimately preservation.

1916/17 Laurel-Ford T

This was one of the competitors in a handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in July 1987.

The programme of the event says that It’s the 1916-17 Laurel-Ford T of B.M.Clarke with a 3,300cc engine (the original model T had a 177 cu in [2.9 litre] engine), but it doesn’t give any more information about the car. An online search for Laurel-Ford doesn’t help much, but it seems that the Laurel Company specialized in modifying Model T Fords for the race circuit. The DVLA record says that registration number DP 696 is now on a 2022 Hyundai.

1936 Ford CX

I took this photograph at a classic car show organised by car dealers Gordon Ford of Stockport in July 1987.

It's a 1936 Ford Model CX, a de-luxe version of the Model C, identifiable by the chrome strips across the radiator. It has the 4-cylinder inline 1,172cc Ford side valve engine that was used by many builders of 1950s 'specials' including the early Lotus cars.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of the photographs I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a Ferrari California T which was an updated version of the Ferrari California with an improved chassis and a 3,855cc twin-turbo V8 Ferrari F154 BB engine replacing the 4,297cc V8 Ferrari F136 I engine of the earlier car.

1962 Brabham BT2

 

This is a photograph that I took at Lodge Corner during the Lenham Storage Formula Junior Championship  race at the Historic Sports Car Club’s Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

It’s the 1962 Brabham BT2 of Mike Harrison which has a 1,098cc Ford Cosworth engine. Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac founded the MRD, or Motor Racing Developments team in 1961 and produced one car, the MRD1, latter changing the name of the team to ‘Brabham’ (and that car to ‘BT1’) when it was pointed out that the French pronunciation of MRD was a rather rude word. Eleven examples of the BT2 were  built.

1969 Ford Galaxie

This was one of the competitors in the HSCC Big Engine Touring Cars race at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010.

It’s the 1969 Ford Galaxie of Michael Steele, a 4th Generation car and has a 429 cu in (7 litre) V8 engine.

1905 Alldays & Onions

This was one of the participants in the Lancashire Automobile Club's first Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1963 at the Broad Street/Cross Lane roundabout in Salford.

It's a 1905 Alldays & Onions and the programme of the event had this note about it:

 

'21.    1905 Alldays & Onions. Entered by Calder S.C.

Swing Seat Tonneau. Made in Birmingham by Alldays & Onions Ltd., firm founded in 1650 and still operating. Engine: Single cylinder.'

 

I’ve found that  Onions (formed by John Onions in 1650) and William Allday & Co. (formed by William Allday in 1720) joined in 1889 under the ownership of Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Company Limited and produced its first car in 1898. The company hit commercial success with the 1.6-litre, vertical-twin side-valve 10/12, which was made from 1905 to 1913 and this is presumably one of those cars.

1959 Lola MkII FJ

I took this photograph on the approach to Druids Corner during the Lenham Storage Formula Junior Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986. 

It's Tony Steele in his 1959 Lola MkII Formula Junior car which appears to have a 4-cylinder online Ford Kent 1,098cc engine. Formula Junior was introduced in 1959 as a class of racing where younger drivers could be introduced to single-seater racing. It ended when Formula 2 and Formula 3 were re-introduced to the racing scene for the 1964 season and Formula Junior has continued to be featured at historic racing events.

1934 Triumph Gloria

 This is one of the cars that took part in a car show on the market square in Hyde in October 2025.

It's a 1934 Triumph Gloria, a car that the Triumph company produced from 1932 to 1938.

It has a 4-cylinder inline 1,087cc Coventry Climax engine that was modified and built under licence by Triumph.

1936 ERA R4A

This is one of the ten ERAs that competed in the Richard Seaman Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s meeting at Oulton Park in June 1985.

It’s Sir John Venables-Llewellyn’s 1936 ERA R4A, the first ERA customer car and originally campaigned by Pat Fairfield. It has the 2 litre supercharged ERA engine.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and has a 6,262cc V12 Ferrari F140 FC engine with an output of 740PS at 8,250 rpm. It was in production from 2012 to 2017.

1999 Audi R8R

In May 2001 Audi brought an Auto Union C-Type and a D-Type to the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park. They also brought several other cars and motorcycles that day, including the one shown below.

It’s the Audi R8R of 1999, a prototype which competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race that year, the two cars finishing in third and fourth places, though the two R8C closed cockpit cars in the LMGTP class failed to finish the race. It’s pictured on the stretch between the Old Hairpin and McLean's Corner during one of the demonstration runs.

1927 Salmson Gran Sport

I took this photograph during a handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1984.

It's D.J.Lee’s 1927 Salmson Gran Sport which has 4-cylinder inline 1,087cc engine. The Gran Sport was produced at Salmson's Billancourt factory from 1924 to 1930.

1934 Bugatti Type 35

This is a photograph that I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 of Richard Wills. The Type 35 had a 1,991cc straight-8 engine and was the most successful racing car of its era.

Aston Martin DB11

These are photographs that I took on the Manchester United car park at Old Trafford in May 2019.

It’s an Aston Martin DB11, a car that was produced from 2016 to 2023 with a choice of 2 engines – an Aston Martin 5.2 litre twin turbo V12, or a Mercedes Benz 4 litre twin turbo V8.

The DVLA record now says that the vehicle details could not be found.